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GIGERO R. C. FRENCH, OF BERKLEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 82,104, dated September 15, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'PERMUTATION-LOGKS.

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Be it known that I, CICERO'R. C. FRENCH, of Berkley, in the county ofBristol, and Sta-te of Massachusetts, have invented a new vand usefulImprovement in 'Combination-Locks, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a. part of this specification, in which- Figure 1represents a vertical longitudinal -section of a lock embodying myimprovements, with the bolt thrown out. l

Figure 2 is a similar view, showing a different position of the bolt,and other portions.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section. l

Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are views in detail of one of the tumblers andrings, toothed wheel, key, and bolt.

Similar letters indicato like parts in the several figures.

The object of my invention is to produce a combinationdockwhich will'besimple in its operation, economical in its construction, and perfectlyburglar-proof, and also one in which any indicating-marks or numbers,for setting the combinations in the lock, will be dispensed with.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the case of the lock, which maybe made like the ordinary mortiselock externally, to lit a common door.

BV is the bolt, which is operated by means of a curved slotted lever, R,iitting on a stud or projection on the bolt. l

O is a stop or sliding bar, passing through au aperture in a piece orprojection, D, which latter is firmly attached to or forms a part of theside plate of the lock.

On the lower edge of the piece D, at one end, is secured a bent spring,E, the other cnd passing' into a recess in the stop C, so as to keep thesaid stop from engaging with the rings when it is not operated or forceddown by the holt.

The stop C plays vertically in a slot in the piece D, so as to be guidedto the recesses in the rings which surround the tumblers.

FGr H represent three rings, fitted snugly upon tumblers K M N, but'arcallowed to turn upon them. These rings do not extend entirely around thetumblers, vbut their ends -are separated suciently to allow the stop Cto drop into the space between the ends, and thus prevent them' frommoving with the tumblcrs, when it is desirable to set the latter.

Attached to or forming a part of the ring F is a'toothed wheel, O,fitting close to one side of the case.Y The teeth do not extend aroundthe entire periphery of the wheel, but a short space is left, as shownat O', iig. 4, for the purpose of determining the position of the wheel,and for setting the lock.

The central portion of the tumbler K projects, on cach side, as at a and5, one side, la, fitting within the side of the casing, and having asquare opening, 4in-which the key is tted.

M and N are two tumblers,'which tit snugly on a cylindrical projectionor arbor of the side plate, and are provided each with a friction-block,c, actuatedby a spring, d, to prevent them from moving too freely onsuch arbor, and acting as a brake.

1n cach of these tumblers is a semicircnlar concentric slot or opening,m', which receives the pins or pro- `-jections e c', by which motion iscommunicated to the tumblcrs M and'N from the tumbler K.

The piece D `is provided with a. slot, in which lits, so as to slidefreely, a small bolt or click, P, of the form shown in Eg. 7. The saidbolt or clickV has a slight lateral play in this opening, so that, whenstruck by the teeth of the wheel O, it will `produce a sound suiiicientto clearly distinguish its passage over the said teeth.

This bolt or click is pressed downward by means of a spring, Q, the freeend of which should press directly l upon thc cent-re of the click P, tokeep it in contact with the wheel O.

On the upper front portion of the click P is a projection, z', whichengages in recesses 1 and 2, in the rear lside ofthe bolt B, as shown infig. 7, and plays in and out of the same when the bolt is being lockedor unlocked.

The partition between the recess prevents the bolt from being forcedback by any improper means, andthe position of the rings, andconsequently the tumblers, is determined by causing the stop or plate Cto drop into the openings d of the rings surrounding the tumblers as thebolt is moved to half-lock.

The'curved slotted lever R is provided with a cylindrical hub, fittingwithin the cylindrical projection or varbor of the side plate. This hubhas a square opening, in which is fitted the end of the key, whichlatter has asquare end, as shown nig. 6, and by means of which both thebolt and tumblers are operated, only one key being required for thepurpose, and the only change required, in the use of the key, is bymoving the key into or outfrom the locklongitudinally, to actnate firstthe tumblers and then the bolt.

The operation is as follows: l n

The bolt is first brought to a position of half-lock, when the slidingstop or bar C will t in each of the open-ings of' the rings F Gr H. Whenthus arranged, the bolt 4may be easily thrown forward and back, and thetumblersare in the position to be set to desired combinations. To setthelock, the keyis pushed in, sc as to Aoperate the tumblers. The key isthen made to turn the wheel O, which may be done in either direction,and is turned twice around, so as to bring all the tumblers incommunication. Then continue to turn the key in the same direction untilthe click slips into the wide space O', between the teeth on the wheelO, which willV be easily determined by the motion of the key. The key isstill to be turned iu the same direction as before, to designate therstnumber of the combination, which may be any number from 1 to 17, say,`in the present instance, 45, the number being indicated by the soundsof thei click as the toothed wheel is turned. For the second numberinthe combination, turn the key in opposite direction, so as to indicatea number between 10 and 128,' say12, then turn the key back again, tomake the third number of the combination from 1 to 9, say 4, asindicated by the sounds. Here we have the combination of numbers 5, 12,4,'upon which the bolt is locked.

In unlocking the lock, the same operation 'is .necessary to'bring backthe proper combination of numbers. It will be seen that alock as abovedescribed is comparatively simple in its construction and operation. Itmay be applied to any ordinary door as a mortisellock, vif desired. I

v In safes, or for bank-locks, the number of tumblers may be increased,so that the combinations may be capable of ve or six million changes. i

` What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. 'The combination, with a series of tumblers and adjustablerings, ofan indicating-wheel, O, a click, P, and sliding plate C, whereby, thebolt being set at half-lock, the required combination may be formed, byturning the tumblers alternately in dpposite directions, substantiallyas set forth.

2. The curved recesses in the bolt l? inv combination with the sliding'plate C', when operating as and for the purpose speeitied.

3. The click or bolt P, providedwith the projection z', in` combinationwith the bolt B, as set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CICERO R. C. FRENCH.

Witnesses l J. H. ADAMS,

RODNEY FRENCH.

